JOUR 101 - Introduction to Journalism & Newswriting

Credits: 5
Variable Credit Course: No

Lecture Hours: 55
Lab Hours: 0
Worksite/Clinical Hours: 0
Other Hours (LIA/Internships): 0

Course Description: The course is designed to develop skill in investigative research and reporting, news-writing, and the basic principles of journalism. This introductory class focuses primarily on researching, writing/reporting skills.

Prerequisite: ENGL& 101 with a C or higher.
Distribution Requirements:

Humanities Distribution Requirement

Meets FQE Requirement: No
Integrative Experience Requirement: No

Student Learning Outcomes

Identify and describe journalistic and ethical principles and apply them to newswriting
Brainstorm, evaluate, select, and coordinate news topics as part of a news team
Apply appropriate interviewing, surveying, and/or online/in-person information-gathering skills to researching and verifying content for news stories
Construct a basic news story that contains a headline, lead, facts, and, if available, quotations and photos/captions
Use recognized writing conventions to proofread and revise news stories for flow, style, and completeness
Cultivate contacts and cover/produce news content related to various beats/pages and develop news stories that reflect them
Analyze and evaluate newspapers and news stories from personal, campus, local, national, and/or global sources for audience, effectiveness, and accuracy
Explore and characterize basic newspaper production and journalism careers
Manage time effectively by meeting copy deadlines and other due dates.

Course Contents

The Basic News Story
Interviewing
Beat System
Establishing Contacts
Principles of Journalism
Lifestyle Pages
Sports Pages
Editorials & Opinion Pages
Ethics
Role of Student Press in Media
Careers in Journalism

Instructional Units: 5